PRESS DIGEST-Canada-Dec 6

Dec 6 The following are the top stories from
selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* Premier Dalton McGuinty has been pushing a reluctant
Ontario government to block the walkouts by elementary school
teachers that are set to begin on Monday. ()

* On the afternoon after a late night of voting on 47
opposition amendments to the government's budget bill, tempers
flared on both sides of the House, with a conservative minister
having to be separated from a heated face-to-face argument with
senior new democrats. ()

Reports in the business section:

* Struggling home improvement retailer Rona Inc,
which spurned a C$1.8 billion ($1.81 billion) takeover proposal
by U.S. rival Lowe's Companies Inc, is moving to
streamline its business and sell off non core assets. ()

* A deep pocketed consortium, led by KingSett Capital, has
launched a C$4.4 billion ($4.43 billion)hostile offer - rare in
the sector - for Primaris Retail Real Estate Investment Trust
, in what the bidders say is the largest takeover
battle that Canada's real estate investment trust sector has
seen. ()

NATIONAL POST

* SaskTel says about 9,000 customers were overcharged
ranging from a few cents up to C$100,000 ($100,700). Spokeswoman
Michelle Englot says they believe the errors happened in the Nov
23 to 29 billing period. ()

FINANCIAL POST

* Apple Inc shares fell the most in almost four
years on concern that the company will lose ground in
smartphones to Nokia Oyj in China while giving up
market share to Google Inc in tablets. ()

FRANKFURT, Dec 9 Labour unions have secured
guarantees for a planned merger of Linde and U.S.
rival Praxair, saying on Friday there would be no forced
layoffs at Linde in Germany until Dec. 31, 2021 in case of a
tie-up.

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